The Underland and Back Again
by adajones
Summary: Gregor is falsely under the impression that he can partake in the normal trials and tribulations of a young adulthood in the Overland. For several years, he and his family believe that they have successfully walked away from everything and everyone in Underland. Little do they know, the Underland is all around them..and it wants them back. A much needed story continuation of TULC
1. The End of The Code of Claw Revisted

Lizzie couldn't believe that they were leaving for good. She had finally overcome her fear of the Underland, and now she even had friends here. The truth of that knowledge burned inside her, and she found herself crying out her grief for losing something special that she had only just discovered; a place where she was accepted as an equal and her "Code-Breaking" was respected.  
Through her tears, she watched everyone saying goodbye. Her mom was talking awkwardly to some Underlanders Lizzie didn't know, and her dad was shaking hands with Gregor's friend Mareth and the doctor Howard, who had come to see them off at the docks. Boots hugged Hazard and then ran over to Temp. She placed many kisses on shell, and the cockroach quivered happily.  
"Bye, Temp!" Boots said between kisses. "See you soon!"

This only made Lizzie sob even more, since she knew that this was not true.

She watched Ripred and Gregor conversing in low voices away from the rest of the crowd; Gregor went pale, his face stony and drawn. She caught the occasional hiss of things like "Watch yourself" and "Rager" and then finally, "-you high, Overlander." Gregor nodded grimly, muttered something in return, and turned towards the bats.  
Ripred locked eyes with her, and his face softened. He padded over to her, and she ran and buried her face in his furry belly.

"There, now don't cry; it's all right."

"No it's not!" Lizzie's voice was muffled by his thick coat.

"We have to go back to New York and pre-pre-tend like none of this happened. I'll never see you again! Boots will n-n-never see Temp! Gregor has a lot of friends here-and he has L-L-Luxa! And you...you'll be all a-a-alone again!"

Ripred nudged her onto his back with his nose.

"Lizzie, as an extremely self-absorbed creature, I have a world of trouble trying to understand how you can feel so horribly for so many people at once."

She knew he was trying to make her laugh, but she couldn't formulate a response.

He sighed. "Well, they appreciate you for it all the same. Can I tell you a secret?"

Lizzie sniffed shakily and looked up at him. "O-o-of course."

"I don't think this is the last time you'll see me."

Lizzie felt so surprised that she stopped crying all at once.

"You see" Ripred continued quickly, "Your parents are afraid of the Underland; afraid of how it changed their family. They feel the best thing they can do is flee. But I can assure you, my dear, that when you run from things that you're afraid of...they chase you."

Lizzie felt alarm shooting through her. "You don't mean to say-?"

"No. There are no more prophecies."

"Then why-?"

"You'd be surprised the way the natural rhythm of things can throw the same group of people into the same places, at the right times. It's actually rather annoying. I find that I can't escape even the most unpleasant of my acquaintances."

"Oh." Lizzie allowed a few remaining tears to trickle down her cheeks, but she smiled broadly. She still felt a little sad, but Ripred, as always, made her feel better.

"And you know-" Ripred pointed a paw and looked over towards the bats where Gregor was kicking at the ground, waiting for the rest of the family, "That thick-skulled brother of yours is sure that the best thing for your family is to let his parents run away with all of you. He may even have convinced himself of that, even if he doesn't like it. I doubt he'll settle for pretending this part of his life never happened."

Gregor saw them looking at him. He gestured at Lizzie to join him on Aurora.

"Goodbye, Ripred. I hope we meet again."

"I don't doubt it, dear." Ripred nudged her towards the bats, where the rest of her family and Luxa were waiting. "Now go. And tell that lovely Mrs. Cormaci of yours that she can feel free to dump her casseroles down the air vent in the laundry room any time she would like."

And they flew over the Waterway to the stairs beneath Central Park. There were a few more painful goodbyes, and then they returned to the Overland.

Lizzie stood slightly away from the stone slab; she was nestled next to her mother, who held Boots's hand. She watched her dad heaving the rock over the entrance closed with the crowbar. Gregor was standing behind him, staring down in the hole with sad eyes at Luxa, who held his gaze solemnly. Lizzie's heart went out to her older brother; she knew that he, even more than she would have reason to miss the Underland.

_But Ripred said that it isn't over; that we'll all find each other again._ Lizzie thought to herself. She trusted Ripred, but couldn't help wonder whether he was just saying that so that she'd have the strength to leave the new and strange world forever.

Interlude

In the months following that mid-October day that they returned to New York City, Gregor was surprised how easily he was able to adjust back to the pace of the Overland. He went back to school, even though it took a bit of time to catch up on his work (he needed a lot of help from his Dad). He told all the right lies to answer Larry and Angelina's questions, and partook in enough forced conversation to keep them from worrying...too much. He went back to work at Mrs. Cormaci's, doing her errands and chores, earning meals for himself and money for his family. He took care of his sisters. He visited his Grandma at the nursing home (she had eventually moved from the hospital to a place with full-time care, so Virginia was out for now) He did his homework. He made sure he avoided any and all confrontation, knowing how sharp his fighting skills were. He worked as hard as he had the energy for; hard enough so that he didn't have time to stop and think. Consequently, he gave up activities like track and band. He doubted as to whether he could even remember how to play the saxophone at this point, and he felt that, after finding out what it truly felt like to run for his life, he'd never do it for pleasure again.

The family at first mentioned the Underland rarely. Then, as Boots grew, their mother forbade it. She hoped that Boots, at least, would be able to forget. And she did for the most part, as her life began to expand out of the limited world of a toddler. One time, however, she laughed as she told Gregor about a 'silly' dream she had about people flying around on bats. Gregor laughed with her, but on the inside all he felt was despairing confusion. Part of him wished it really had been a dream, and part of him thought that that was stupid.


	2. Look, Gregor Being Awkward Young Adult!

_A/N: I am aware of the fact that this story is kind of wonky as per its formatting. Sorry about that. I guess that will get better in time; this is a learning experience after all. _

Gregor thought that school might not be so bad this year, as he made his way through the first day of 10th grade. Being a freshman was horrible, but this year things really were looking up: Larry and Angelina were in a handful of his classes each and Chemistry seemed like it would be pretty interesting.

He was in a pretty good mood by the time the bell rung at the end of the day. He met up with Larry and Angelina at Angelina's locker.

"Hey."

They turned.

"Oh, sorry."

He had interrupted some conversation that they had been having.

"Hi Gregor!" She smiled warmly at him. " Guess what? I tried out for the Fall play during break today."

Gregor smirked. "Well, I hope you remember that, even if you get every single part, you can only play _one _if you want to have time to sleep and eat."

She rolled her eyes, but she was was laughing.

Larry looked slightly disgruntled. "Hey, man. You ready to go?"

He and Larry walked somewhat in the same direction to get home.

"Sure."

They said goodbye to Angelina, and headed out onto the noisy street. They joked about their new teachers and classes for awhile. Gregor laughed a lot.

"You seem to be in an uncharacteristically good mood." Larry observed, sometime later.

This, Gregor realized, was a good point. Though he had become gradually less sulky throughout the past couple of years, it had been quite sometime since he really had a good laugh.

"Yeah..." he said, somewhat distantly.

Larry let out a laugh that turned into a fit of tumultuous coughing. He had always had really bad asthma.

"What?" Gregor asked.

Larry gave him an impish grin that Gregor thought looked slightly forced.

"Don't think I can't tell."

"Tell what?" Gregor asked, bewildered.

"You and Angelina."

"Me and...what?"

"Don't act like an idiot!" Larry grew flushed, and his eyes narrowed.

"You like her and she..." He trailed off, his face growing pained.

Oh no. That's what Larry thought? Gregor could feel his face growing red.

"It's not like that. She's great and everything, but..."

Gregor didn't know what the "but" was. Though his friend Angelina was quite pretty, smart, and funny, he really just...wasn't feeling it. Something, it seemed, had kept him from falling for any girls in the past few years.

Larry's face changed. He looked relieved for a second, but then he said anxiously; "She likes _you_ though."

Gregor's face burned.

"You don't know that."

"Yeah, I do." Larry said bitterly.

"How?"

"Dude. She flirts with you like crazy. Did you not notice?"

"Oh." Gregor supplied rather stupidly.

Larry shifted his bag and kicked at a loose stone on the sidewalk.

"I know it's not your fault...it's just...I..."

"You really like her, don't you?" Gregor asked his friend.

Larry's eyes dropped to the ground.

"Just ask her out."

Gregor was no expert on dating. That seemed like the right thing to say, though.

"I-" Larry began.

"-have got nothing to lose." Gregor finished for him. "Look. There's your apartment, Loverboy. Think about it."

Larry shook his head, and waved, before pushing open the door.

Gregor found himself curious, and yet, a bit uncomfortable about what he found out. He thought about it all the way home and up the stairs to his family's apartment. He turned the door handle and walked inside. He was so distracted, that it took him quite awhile to notice that a giant rat was sitting at his kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.


	3. The Return of the Peacemaker

Gregor remembered one summer holiday, years ago, before Boots was born and before his dad first fell into the Underland, when they took a vacation to the beach. He and his dad went swimming in the open Atlantic Ocean. They had a great time dodging waves in any way they could; jumping over them, riding on them, and diving under them. It all seemed like great fun. Then, when his back was turned, a particularly nasty wave came. It came, way over his head, with such force, that he was knocked off his feet and flipped over and over again in dizzying somersaults, crashing back towards the shore. He didn't have time to break the surface for air when the next wave caught him, hurtling him, while he flapped blindly in the current, to the beach. Finally, he was dumped on the sand, shaking and gasping for breath. All the things his parents ever told him about what was dangerous in the ocean came back to him, and he had the sickening realization that he couldn't avoid what he'd been ignoring for so long.

He dropped his backpack on the floor. His head spun, his hands shook, and he felt like he could be sick.

The rat turned to face him. He had two diagonal scars across his face.

"Hmm...I see our little rager didn't expect to see me in his house."

"Get out." Gregor didn't know why he was so angry, but rage filled him at the sight of the Underland creature. There was a buzzing in his ears.

"NOW! I SAID-"

The rat let out a drawling laugh. "Don't know what you're going to do without a sword, boy. Poke me with some of your pencils, maybe..."

Gregor roared in frustration. Without thinking about what he was doing, he ran up to Ripred, his fists drawn, ready to fight.

Ripred leaped up and, in seconds, had flipped him lazily with his tail. He pinned Gregor to the ground.

"LET-ME-GO-" Gregor panted, writhing beneath the rat's tail, trying to free himself.

"No." Ripred said, staring at him. "Not until you've calmed yourself down. Wouldn't want you doing something irrational, now, would we?"

Gregor didn't know how long he lay there on the floor, with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. Why was Ripred here? Ripred lived in the Underland. He hadn't spoken to anyone from the Underland for three years. It didn't make sense.

"Let me up. I'm okay." Ripred lifted his tail, and Gregor got off the wooden floor, brushing off his pants. He couldn't believe that Ripred was here. In his kitchen. His mind was reeling. It was all coming back to him in an overwhelming flood; prophecies, Sandwich, Regalia, Rats, Spiders, Bats, Cockroaches, Plague, Death, War, Ares...Poor Ares; his bond, his friend...and...Luxa.

"Luxa." He hadn't realized he'd spoken out loud, until Ripred said carefully "Yes, yes. She's fine, your little Queen-to-be. Still as haughty as ever, though. Thinks she knows what's best about, well, everything; of course, that's been quite a big job for her, being in charge. But she's well."

"Good." Gregor said absently. "I...what are you doing here?" He collapsed on the couch, his face in his hands. It had taken him so long to forget this place; it haunted his mind for months and months. It had been like having to learn to live with the fact that somebody that had been a part of your life was dead or gone, not unlike what the family went through when his dad had first disappeared all of those years ago. Just when he felt like he might be sort of normal again, the Underland had to come back to slap him in the face... In the form of Ripred.

"Surely that's not _all _you're curious about? I mean, aren't you wondering a little bit about how I managed to find your-" His beady eyes swirled around "-dwelling?"

"Not really." Gregor said miserably. He needed to get Ripred out of the house before his mom got home from work, his dad got back from...wherever he was, and his sisters got home from school. He glanced at the clock above the television- 2:31. Lizzie was usually let out of the middle school in a half an hour.

"Look...you...you need to leave. My family has moved on..."

"Perhaps." Ripred said airly, draining the last of his tea and beginning to gnaw on the mug.  
He was too freaked out to even tell Ripred to lay off eating their glass-ware.

"But I have information that concerns them. And you, for that matter."

Gregor felt the last of the color drain from his face. _Not again..._

Then he spoke;  
"Not another-"

"No, no. No more prophecies."

"Than what are you-"

"Well, you know how Sandwich came to the Underland centuries ago, and since then only a few Overlanders-" here he flicked Gregor in the head with his tail "-have breached our grounds? Well..." Ripred paused to bite off a hunk of his mug "there is this small issue, you see, where the Cutters-"

Gregor remembered the Cutters; they were a ruthless army of giant ants that hated all Warmbloods and tried to destroy what was then believed to be the plague cure so that they would all die. Anything that Ripred had to say about them could not be good.

"-are soon going to take over both the Under and Over lands."

Gregor wasn't sure what he was expecting to hear; but it definitely was not that.

"Oh jeez." He felt another wave of nausea settle over him. Strangely enough, it was more of the idea that his own life and his family's lives were now being flipped back around that unsettled him, rather than the idea of giant ants storming the Overland.

"Yes, it is rather unpleasant." He couldn't tell if Ripred knew what he was thinking, but his words sounded ambiguous. A long silence followed, in which Gregor tried to get a handle on his mind, which was shooting a storm of thoughts across his head; _They want me back. Us back. The Overland will be affected. I'll have to fight again. Boots and Lizzie, his parents..._

"So then why are you here? Who sent you? What does this have to do with us?"  
Ripred looked at him as if he were slightly more intelligent than a slug.

"_What does this have to do with you? _Boy, don't you realize what this means? If your pea-brain has lost the ability to think of the Underland over the course of three measly years, you could at least realize that this means your own home is in danger!"

Gregor silently wished that the Underlanders had sent someone besides Ripred as a representative-he tended to get the point quickly, and Gregor was still having trouble processing the events. He didn't even know how to think of a response to Ripred's news, so instead he settled for "I don't know what exactly you need me for, but...I can tell you, you're going to have a hell of a time convincing my parents to let me anywhere near any of this."

"Hmm...yes..." Ripred rubbed his chin with a paw. "As I recall, I had to threaten your lovely, resilient mother with a pack of hungry Overland rats before she changed her mind on one occasion..."

Gregor frowned at this memory. Yes. That was before they went to the Underland to help find the plague cure. His mother had insisted on going with him and Boots to the meeting, and then caught the plague herself. It was all starting to come back to him now.

"Luckily, I have two of Regalia's head diplomats waiting on a bat beneath the grate in the laundry room."

_What? _

"There are more of you?" Now Gregor was completely nonplussed.

"Yes, well, we thought it would be best to have some backup when it came to confronting your family, particularly your parents. Peaceful negotiation, I'll admit, is not my strongest point."

"I'll say." Gregor muttered, all of Ripred's antics returning to him suddenly: Barking out orders, sending the Cockroaches to steal Boots to lure him to the Underland, The thing with the rats when the Underlanders needed Boots and Gregor to find the plague cure, the utterly disastrous echolocation lessons..._echolocation. _He had completely forgotten about using echolocation until now.

"Wow." said Gregor "I guess I'd forgotten a lot of this Underland stuff."

Ripred rolled his eyes, crunching on the ceramic shards of his tea-mug.

"Don't be an idiot. You haven't _forgotten _anything; you've just blocked it out. Now, if you don't mind, you should go down to the laundry room and fetch our guests. It's too risky for me to do too much wandering about. Call into the grate. They should hear you."


	4. Vikus's Assistant

Gregor walked out of his apartment in a trance. As he made his way down the stairs to the basement of the building, he considered what Ripred had said; " You haven't _forgotten _anything; you've just blocked it out." That actually made a lot of sense. Until Ripred showed up today, everything he had known in the Underland had seemed like something completely separate, like a dream he had had when he was very young. He guessed that the more time passed, the more he had buried the memories.

He swung opened the door to the laundry room; no one else was there. He crept over to the grate, feeling a little anxious. Who would he find? Surely not Luxa...

He cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke into the grate "Er...Ripred...says you can uh, come up now. I guess."

No sooner had he said that than did a large, dark gray wing poke out of the grate. He racked his brain, trying to remember if he knew the bat to whom the wing belonged.

Suddenly, a head of dark, curly hair popped up, followed by a pair of bright green eyes. The kid, who looked very familiar to Gregor, jumped out of the grate.

"Gregor the Overlander. It has been quite a while."

And, a twinge of recognition shot through him. "Hazard! Hey, man. How are you doing?"

Hazard was Luxa's halflander cousin: the son of her Uncle Hamnet, who died in battle in search of the plague cure, and a deceased Overlander woman.

Hazard grinned. "I'm well. And yourself?"

Gregor was amazed at how much older he sounded, how much he seemed to have matured. But then, it had been a few years. He'd probably be at least 10, now.

"Alright, I guess. I can tell you though, I hadn't been expecting-"

Just then, another person hobbled out of the grate. He was an old man, around his grandma's age, with violet eyes, silver hair, and translucent skin. He looked a little unsteady, and Gregor noticed that he carried a cane.

After the man straightened himself up, and brushed off his clothes he spread his arms in a gesture of welcome. "Gregor. It is good to see you. You've grown."

Vikus. He was Luxa's grandfather, a man whose life, Gregor recalled, was flipped almost entirely upside down by war, when all he desired was a life of peace. He was also one of the Underlanders that Gregor had trusted above many others. He was also Gregor's friend.

"Hey, Vikus!" He stepped forward to shake his hand. "It's been...awhile."

"Indeed it has." Vikus had many scars and wrinkles; he also seemed to still have trouble walking on the left side, probably from when he'd had the stroke. However, there was an unmistakable happy gleam in the old man's eye, and Gregor knew that he'd found some peace at last. Well, not about the Cutters, but peace in some form or another. The last time Gregor had been in the Underland, Vikus was still trying to cope with the dual shock of his wife's betrayal and then her death.

"We should probably go back up-" Gregor froze. How was he going to get these to Underlanders up to his apartment without being seen?

"Hold on." Gregor told them. "I just have to check to make sure the stairwell is empty."

He left them in the laundry room, and jogged hurriedly around the corner. He saw that the elevator was working. That was good. Even though Gregor preferred to use the stairs, if the elevator was working, no one else in the apartment building would be using them.

He gestured for Vikus and Hazard to follow him. He led them up the stairs (Hazard was helping Vikus, who could tackle stairs, but needed a bit of assistance) and into the apartment.

The first thing that Gregor noticed is that Ripred had shut all of the blinds covering the small windows. For one wild minute, he thought that perhaps he planned to kidnap them. Then he realized that one, that really wouldn't make any sense, and two, he probably did it so that Vikus and Hazard wouldn't go blind from the Overland sunshine.

"Ah, Ripred!" Vikus said. "I assume you...explained the situation to Gregor?"

Before Ripred could answer, Gregor said, "Yeah...I've still got some questions about that...how soon are the Cutters supposed to be...what is it...coming up to the Overland? Have they done stuff in Regalia already?"

Vikus looked pointedly at Ripred, who shrugged before stretching and yawning.

"It seems that Ripred..."

"What?" Gregor asked, shooting Ripred a glare. Remembering past experiences with Ripred, he felt sure now that he hadn't been told the entire truth.

"Well, the Cutters haven't actually done anything..._yet_."

Vikus explained that they have a few allies living among the Cutters that have been keeping the Regalians up-to-date on important matters. It was not until recently that they uncovered plans of the ants's military to take both the Regalian and Fount territories, and possibly some parts of the Overland.

"Wait a second...why do the Cutters want to come to the Overland?"

He tried to imagine giant red ants swarming 5th Avenue, ducking in out of commercial stores.

"I would imagine that their wish is to gain as much territory as possible. Land opened to the sun is not ideal for their preferred living conditions, but they would most certainly find it useful for traveling." Vikus replied.

_Traveling? _Gregor was thoroughly confused. It must have shown on his face, too, for Hazard, who had been milling around curiously observing the appliances in the kitchen jumped into the conversation; "You must not think of the Underland as only what surrounds Regalia, Gregor."

"Yes." said Vikus, gazing thoughtfully out of the window as he spoke, " The Underground caverns, most creatures in the Underland know, stretch much farther than what is blocked off by Dead Lands and the Waterway. The Dead lands, as far as anyone knows, stretch out long enough being devoid of nourishment and life to be an efficient route, and the Waterway is useless to all but those with the ability to swim great distances or hands to make boats or wings to fly. "

"So...the ants-I mean Cutters want to, uh, use the Overland to pass over the Dead Land and the Waterway to find more space, then?" Gregor asked uncertainly.  
Clearly, the Cutters did not know much about what the Overland was like, and how you cannot, well, just be a freakishly sized ant and go walking around up there. Then again, if they did have an idea of the Overland and still are confident in their ability to take it over...well. Gregor didn't really want to think about that.

"Essentially." Ripred said, gnawing on what looked like an old shoe. Gregor didn't want to know where it came from.

"However, we suspect that their intentions are to wipe out as many Warmbloods as they can during the process. From their perspective, it was Warmbloods stole their land; not just Underland humans. And, I guess you could say that we did- the Cutters and the Crawlers had been settled in the Underland thousands of years before Warmbloods had even evolved properly."

Gregor supposed that made sense. He knew that cockroaches and other bugs had been around for awhile. Although, you didn't see the Crawlers making a big fuss about land distribution.

Gregor felt his head begin to pound. "So...they're just passing through the Overland, then? I mean, they don't have any reason to hate the _Overlanders_..."

"Doubtful. I'm sure that the only way they think they can keep Overland territory easily accessible is by using force. And again, they don't really care what kind of warmblood you are." Ripred said.

Vikus's eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning. "Not all Cutters think such things, Ripred. Some desire to live in harmony with other creatures."

"Yes, Vikus. But do you forget that the handful that _do _desire different things from the rest of the Colony have been killed off, or are else too afraid to speak their minds?"

"We have been making many attempts to negotiate a peaceful land agreement with the Cutters-" Vikus began to say, but Ripred interrupted him.

"But they really aren't the "negotiating" type. They don't think, they act. You saw in the Jungle three years ago; they are extremely militaristic. Most Cutters live with a mob mentality. They do whatever they must to increase their numbers. Their current plan is to take advantage of their increasing population size, and just-" Ripred spread a paw out to each side here "-spread out. Veni Vidi Vici. You've studied Caesar in that school of yours, haven't you?"

"Er...I might have, yeah."

"Well, think on that scale with the Cutters; Julius Caesar, Napoleon, The Huns...maybe even Polk. Ruthless, relentless expansionism. Except there's hundreds of thousands of them. With piercing mandibles."  
Right. Ripred studied Overland history in his spare time.

"Alright..." He found himself shaking his head: Never in a million years would he have expected to come home from his first day of school and start talking about the logistics of giant ant colonization with a bunch of Underlanders.

"So, I get that I have to watch out for these things trying to pass through the Overland-"

"-Hence the _piercing mandibles-" _Ripred spoke over him pointedly.

"-but why are you guys _here? _What do you need from us?"

Ripred sighed dramatically. " I _do _hate when I have to explain things; why do you think? We need connections to the Overland, don't we? People that know the land...People that _live _on the land. The Overlanders will be affected if this isn't dealt with. They need to be represented. You and your family are the only ones we're really on 'speaking terms' with."

"We thought" Vikus said, smiling at Gregor, "that you or some member of your family might be able to act as a guide of sorts. And, perhaps, act as a sort of Overland Representative at meetings."

Gregor stood, facing these people, who were watching him and waiting for him to say something; to make some kind of decision.

"I really don't-"

"This really shouldn't be such a hard thing to consider, Overlander, if you remember that everyone you care about Under, Over, and in-between is in danger-"

"I NEVER ASKED FOR ANY OF THIS" He found himself bellowing at Ripred. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Why-" He rubbed his head, feeling drained and confused, "Why is this happen-"

The front door swung opened suddenly.

"Gregor, what on earth are you yelling-"

"...about."

The room was dead silent. Lizzie dropped her school bag to the ground with a loud thunk. Her eyes were round circles, and her face was pale.

Gregor broke the silence first. "Hey, Liz. We, um, have visitors."

Lizzie slumped down on the floor, sitting against the wall. "I can see that." She said faintly.


	5. In Which Underlanders Try Pasta

The next hour or so could only be described as completely chaotic.

After Lizzie had arrived, she had exchanged greetings with the Underlanders in a sort of quiet amazement. She smiled when she approached Ripred.

"I guess you were right after all."

"Aren't I always, though?" he said, which made her laugh.

Then, a few minutes later ( in the middle of Ripred giving Lizzie a greatly watered-down version of the speech they had just been giving Gregor) his mom walked in with Boots, whom she presumably stopped to pick up on her way home from work. If Gregor had thought that _he'd_ flipped out when he had first got home, then he would have no idea how to describe his mother's reaction.

"WHAT ARE YOU-HOW DID YOU-WHY-?" She was completely white in the face, and too shocked and upset to even form complete phrases. Vikus took her aside and they spoke in low voices, dozens of different emotions flooding across his mom's face as she listened.

Gregor had been so busy watching his mom, he didn't notice his other sister, Boots, standing stock-still by the door. He was amazed to see that she didn't look frightened at all, but merely politely curious, as if she were observing an exhibit at a museum.

"Boots..." Gregor said, not knowing how to explain what was going on. However, she surprised him again by walking up to where Ripred and Lizzie were sitting and saying "I dreamed about you before."

Ripred raised an eyebrow at her. "The last time I spoke to you, you weren't counting farther than ten."

Boots, looking affronted, said "I can count to more than ten!"

"Yes, yes...I'm sure you can." The rat said hastily, rolling his eyes.

"I can read, too! I'm older now!" She insisted, stomping her foot.

Ripred sighed. "Touche, Overlander; Touche."

Gregor felt completely blown away by his little sister's ability to except the extraordinary.

"It's just like old times..." Gregor thought to himself grimly. Lizzie was hanging around with Ripred, Boots was skipping and talking, apparently quite happy, his Mother was completely losing it on her current unfortunate Underland target, Vikus, (Or perhaps she knew better instinctively than to try to cuss out Ripred) and his Dad was doing his best to calm her down while trying to hide the fact that he himself was completely shaken. Oh, and Gregor was just kind of standing there whistling with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Some things never changed.  
He noticed that Hazard was also alone in the onslaught of insanity. He had seated himself on the couch a good distance away from everybody else, and seemed to be studying everything carefully. Gregor thought that he, at least, might be capable of holding a normal sort of conversation.  
"Hey, Hazard." He plopped down next to him on the couch. "So, what brings you to the Overland?"

Hazard gazed at him for a moment before saying "Did Ripred not tell you? I am Vikus's assistant now."

"Assistant?" Gregor thought it seemed a bit odd that a ten-year old had a job as an assistant. Then again, when he was down there last, they had a 12-year old running a kingdom. So maybe it wasn't that weird.

Hazard nodded serenely. "Yes. They thought that, as I know and am still learning the tongues of many creatures, I would do well with the tasks that Vikus has as Regalia's main diplomat. You remember his duties, I take it?"

Now that he recalled it, Gregor could remember his first trip to the Underland, when he'd learned that Vikus was the most respected human among a colony of giant spiders. He was one of the few that, at the time, the Spiders would have considered imprisoning instead of just attacking straight off, simply because he spent a lot of time trying to converse with them rather than slicing them with a sword.  
"Well, that's good. Anything else new back home?"  
Hazard made a face. "All I have to speak of relates to political squabbles. Tell me of the Overland, Gregor."

Well. That didn't really make for an interesting story. What did Gregor do in the last three years? He completely forgot the Underland and lived his life.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something to Hazard, the doorbell rang.

Chapter 6: Soulmates

Shortly after ringing the doorbell, Mrs. Cormaci let herself in. She was enough like family that it didn't matter, at least to Gregor. The apartment, which had just been full of loud chatter, fell dead silent. She kicked the door opened and shuffled through, her face obscured by an armful of shopping bags.  
"So I thought I could make some sauce, and then we could make a salad and cook up some of the ravioli that's been sitting in the fridge for lord knows how long; you know, it's a wonder I managed to remember to stop at the store at all, given the fiasco at the bank with that darn teller-bless her heart, it was the girl's first day-"  
She paused as she placed her groceries on the kitchen counter, still facing away from the room full of guests.  
"-she ended up taking twenty five and a half minutes trying to cash my check! Of course, one of the older women had to step in...but the point is, I have this really great recipe for marinara that I like to use for the lasagnas that I take to church-"

She turned around and faced the living room full of silent people. Gregor watched her face lose color as she swept her gaze over Hazard and Vikus. When she got to Ripred she clutched at her heart and swayed a little, before catching herself with her other hand on the kitchen counter.

"-yes...Church..." She gasped. "ought...ought... to be going there for more than just lasagna, a woman my age...(gasp)you never know when your (gasp) heart's just going to...(inhale)give out on you..."

The room was completely silent: no one was quite sure what to say. Although Mrs. Cormaci knew of the Overland from Gregor's stories, the closest she had ever gotten to it was chatting to a perfectly amiable bat in the laundry room about the weather. After a long pause, Ripred broke the silence:  
" Mrs. Cormaci, Le chef merveilleuse. We meet at last."  
Gregor's dad rushed forward and grabbed a chair from the kitchen table. "Why don't you have a seat, Mrs. Cormaci."

Vikus and his parents all began speaking at the same time. Mrs. Cormaci waved her arm and said loudly over them:  
"Codswallop! I will not hear any of it until I've fed you. It's not as if time is going to make your explanations any less interesting. Besides, it's already four, and I've got to go play Monday night Bridge at Barbra's at six-thirty. Eat and _then _talk. Or talk and eat. Just don't spit your pasta on me."

Ripred nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes. Let us eat whatever Mrs. Cormaci prepares for us."

The next hour of his life was probably one of the strangest. Gregor thought it might have something to do with watching Underlanders working alongside his family to prepare a meal of pasta and sauce. Mrs. Cormaci, of course, had everyone working. Vikus was whistling serenely while chopping tomatoes (and, much to Gregor's amusement, when Mrs. Cormaci offered him a pink cooking apron, he happily accepted) while his parents cut vegetables and washed lettuce for a salad. She also had Boots and Hazard snapping the ends off of green beans in the sink, while Gregor stood at the stove and stirred things when necessary. Mrs. Cormaci downright refused to let Ripred near the food, so he sat in the living room telling Lizzie about the new government in the Rat Colonies and enthusiastically accepting samples from Mrs. Cormaci, who appeared quite taken with his praise of her cooking ability.

After retrieving extra chairs and cramming awkwardly into the apartment's small dining area, the ragtag group began to dine. Vikus, between forkfuls of ravioli ( which he pronounced upon first bite to be "far unlike Underland cuisine, but rather delectable") explained things to Mrs. Cormaci, who listened with raised eyebrows, but asked no questions. Gregor noticed his mom had not picked up her knife and fork, because she was too busy shooting Vikus and Ripred looks of the purest loathing. When Vikus arrived at the part about the Cutter's plans to invade the Overland, she scoffed audibly and rolled her eyes.


	6. Bid Him Look Where He leaps

A/N: Thank you for reading. And reviewing. I really appreciate it! I know this chapter is short...like, suspiciously so. However, it just really seemed like it should stand alone. Chapter 7 coming very soon!

He wasn't sure at what point the casual chatter of a somewhat peacefully prepared dinner began rising and rolling, joining together into a kind of twisted, agitated being. Maybe it was when Mrs. Cormaci quickly stood up and steered Boots and Lizzie by the shoulders into the bedroom. Or maybe that allowed it to begin. He wasn't sure when exactly his mother started shouting, or how about five different individual arguments began taking place, voices in varying pitches of hysteria clambering over one another to be heard. Voices riddled with fear for the friends, their family, their home, for everyone. Voices who used his name. Voices that clung desperately to his name. _The Warrior. Gregor. We need him. You can't have him. My son. Our protector. He's a boy. He's a WAR VETERAN. Everyone, please. Please settle down. He's a just a boy. He's a rager. Our world is in danger. Your world is in danger. We need him. WE need him. Let go, oh, won't you just let go. _ He wasn't even sure how his muscles, stretched taut with tension, began working of their own accord to move him up out of his seat and towards the door.

He wasn't even sure how he ended up at that grate; that stupid, grate in the stupid laundry room. It is not as if he had even been here in three years. Sure, he had walked passed it plenty of times. But it had been like a person that he had known, with whom he had had a falling out. He never looked at it, not in the eye. And yet, it was there every time he happened to pass it; a fixture with its own life and story that could not be destroyed. So it was always there in the background.

Gregor lowered himself next to the opening. He crossed his legs and sat for a moment, feeling the light breeze sift through his hair.

Of course the currents were there. They always were, at the right time. They always knew when he needed to be brought to the Underland. The damn currents were even against him! Against him, and for him, just like everyone else. It was all part of something too big for him to fully comprehend. Prophecies. Fate. Something. Things always worked out too well.

An emphatic gust brushed him with warm air, beckoning to him. Gregor folded his knees inside his arms and rested his chin on top. If he went it would not be to run away. He would not be running away from his family. He would not be going to the Underland because of Ripred's visit. Or Vikus's. Or some freak pilgrim Sandwhich. He was going because everything seemed insane and out of his control, and he wanted to be in control of his own decisions. Or at least, fulfill some sort of weird destiny on his own terms. It would be on no one else's terms. Only his.

He jumped. He jumped for every reason, for any reason, for all reasons, but mostly, he thought he heard footsteps. So he jumped before anyone could catch him.

Gregor the Overlander leaped once again.

And, as per tradition, he had absolutely no plan whatsoever.


	7. I See You

A/N: I realize that I said Chapter 7 would be up soon, but...yeah. It kind of took me forever to get it up. Luckily, I have a much stronger idea of the direction I want the story to go in, so this time you might actually expect less of a gap between updates. Thanks for reading!

Gregor remembered the first time he fell to the Underland, he was pretty much terrified. Like, he knew that logically, he could either go careening into some bizarre second basement and potentially crush Boots to death, or that they would both end up melting in lava or something at the center the earth after falling for days. Thank goodness the Underland was not sensical in any way.

Yes Gregor thought, thank god for freaking rats and cockroaches the size of small vehicles. Then again, he guessed that there were perks to the Underland and all of its vaguely fantastical elements. Like the currents that were presently keeping him from falling too fast.  
He felt the familiar light breeze ruffle his hair and pull gently at his clothes. The tunnel down which he fell was completely black and silent, but warmly so. The ten minute fall might be good for someone who likes to meditate or pray or contemplate life or whatever. For Gregor, it was oddly comforting. Maybe because it was an escape from the confusion of life; after all today _was_ the first day of school.  
Or maybe he felt relieved to be going back.  
It was weird to think about, what with the whole place being war-infested plague-infested, deadly creature-infested, and, in essence a place that used to be one from which he attempted to escape...but maybe it was also a place to be missed. Maybe he had been missing the place for three years, and never really realized it until a cantankerous rat ate his teacup.  
He thought he'd been falling for a good ten minutes or so, now, and couldn't help but wonder what awaited him at the bottom of the cavern. More than likely, some Rats would be scouting and come once they smelled his Overland scent. Not that he had a sword or anything.

Then again, Gregor realized, they might not even be hostile. He knew that the Gnawers were very divided when he left Regalia three years ago; who knew what was going on now. Perhaps there was finally peace between the warmbloods. The Cutters were a completely different story.

The mist began to clear up, and he could see the sides of the cavern. Seconds later, his clothes settled neatly back on his sides, and he was placed lightly on his feet. He brushed his rumpled hair out of his eyes and straightened his shirt before realizing that there was a hunched over shape just a foot in front of him.

"Gregor." it was a female voice; a human voice. It spoke his name in a way that it was more of a statement of fact than it was a surprised greeting. She was expecting him.

"I was expecting you." Nerissa held a single, flickering candle up to her face, and she was smiling warmly. Gregor was surprised and yet unsurprised to see her, recalling Nerissa's seeing abilities. Whereas other people made appointments days in advance, Nerissa sometimes was exactly on time for meetings that were not suppose to happen for ten years.

It was hard to tell for sure in the dim light, but Gregor noted that she looked much healthier than he had remembered her being. She was still sharp and too-thin, but her hair was kept and her clothes were neat. Her shoulders were straight and tall, missing the usual invisible burden that used to keep them frail and bent.

"Oh. Uh, hey Nerissa. Um, how is it going?" He never quite knew what to say to her. Or maybe it had just been a really long time.  
Her grin grew, taking up more than half of her face, and bringing that familiar mix of soft kindness and insanity to her violet gaze. Instead of answering him, she placed her long, thin fingers on his shoulder.  
"It is very good to have you back, Gregor. You will not even begin to know the joy it will bring the Alliance to see the Warrior of Peace."  
"Uh..."  
The Alliance. That was a new term. And Warrior...of Peace? Is that what he was now? He tossed the words around in his head, trying to bring himself back to a place where he was The Warrior and there were alliances...  
"I think my cousin Luxa will also be very pleased to see you because there are matters..."  
There is only one kind of nausea in the world that is horrible and yet somehow pleasant; only one kind of situation that exists where you can feel like your stomach is literally hopping around your throat. He did not hear anything that Nerissa was saying because he was filled with anticipatory dread and excitement. He had to spend a minute reigning in his flooding emotions and his imagination in favor of the idea that he had not seen this girl since he was 12.

"...and as soon as Hestia gets here-she is circling the outer cavern to stretch her wings-,I think it best that we go to the Council room right away. That way, you may catch the end of the meeting. However, what is really quite important is that you speak to Luxa immediately. I worry that she may be...ah! Hestia!"  
A small, handsome sort of chocolate brown bat landed down in front of them.  
"Gregor the Overlander, meet you Hestia the Flyer. Hestia-"  
The bat bent her head low in a sort of bow. "Gregor, The Warrior of Peace. I am grateful for your deeds."  
What the...humbled for his deeds? What was even happening here?  
An involuntary chuckle escaped him.  
"Ahem. Sorry. Um, no problem. It's good to meet you."

The bat fluttered her wings. "I am most certainly ready to fly, Overlander, if you are. And you, lady."

Nerissa continued to smile her ghostly smile, like it was a permanent fixture on her face. She blew out her candle, and removed her hand from Gregor's shoulder.  
"Then let us fly."

Gregor sat behind Nerissa. He felt an intense eeriness as Hestia's powerful wings beat and glided, and his hand rested in her glossy fur. He remembered his bond, Aries, as if he were with him right now. This all led into a moment of deep grief. How had he forgotten Aries?

Within several minutes they were flying high over Regalia, roads weaving between its intricate array of stone buildings doused in orange torchlight. Gregor felt content as the city flickered and twisted in light and shadow, giving off the foreign yet familiar feeling of being surrounded by fading candles.

Hestia made a sharp turn, and began to descend. They touched down neatly in the High Hall of the Palace.  
"Thank you, Hestia. Would you perhaps still be joining us for supper?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"Excellent. Come along, Gregor."

Hestia fluttered away, and Gregor followed Nerissa, who began walking quickly towards the rest of the palace. Gregor was so busy being anxious about Luxa, that he did not have time to experience the familiarity of all of the hallways through which he passed. He barely even noticed when they passed the museum, which was full of Overland objects and a place where he had spent much time in the past. Gregor didn't even take time to notice that people were staring, gasping, and, in some cases, tearing up, at the sight of him as he passed.


End file.
